In Memory Of
by eva.chrisovitsanousweety
Summary: Sybil gives birth to her daughter. The same night she reveals a secret to her husband. What secret connects Elsie and Charles with the family upstairs? One-shot story.


_**Α**__**/**__**Ν**__**: I wanted to have a break from writing but this idea came to me and didn't leave alone until I wrote it. I wanted to write this idea into one-shot. Soon I will upload the first chapter of my new story. I hope you like this one-shot. Enjoy. **_

_**I don't own any of this and I don't earn anything. I just love to write stories. **_

Tom walked slowly in the corridor of the first floor. He soon reached the door of the bedroom that he and Sybil were using. He opened the door slowly and entered the room, then closed the door trying not to make any loud sound. His attention was immediately caught by the lovely sight in front of him. Sybil was half lying-half sitting on the bed holding their new born daughter in her arms and smiling at her. He stood there watching how his wife was taking care of their daughter. Soon, Sybil saw that he was inside the room and turned to look at him. She smiled to her husband when she saw him standing there like a statue staring at her and the baby in her arms. "Come here, love.", she said to him as she held out her hand to him.

Tom walked slowly towards the bed and took hold of the hand she offered to him, then placed a soft kiss on the back of it. With his free hand he reached and caressed his daughter's tiny cheek. The baby was sleeping peacefully in her mother's arms. They looked each other in the eyes for a few moments, all the while smiling. He leaned towards her and kissed her softly on the lips to show her how proud he was of her. "Sybil?", he looked at her with a serious face. "What is going to be her name?", he asked her as he looked his daughter.

Sybil was a little surprised by his question but she had already thought of that and she had made her decision as long as her husband wanted to give that name. She looked at him in the eyes and then she turned to look at her daughter who opened her dark blue eyes to look at her. That moment she had made her decision and smiled as she watched her daughter drifting back to sleep. She raised her head to look at her husband and holding a little more tightly his hand. "I thought that we could name her Elsie, in memory of my mother.", she finally said what it was in her mind since she learnt that she was pregnant.

Tom was taken by surprise with the answer of his wife. He was staring at her very confused. He tried to understand what she wanted to say with that but he couldn't. He looked her still confused with her answer and took a deep breath. "What do you mean, Sybil?", he asked her. "Lady Cora is your mother.", he was so confused. "I don't understand anything, Sybil.", he looked her in the eyes and saw that what she was going to say it was something he couldn't imagine in his wildest dreams.

It was time to tell him the truth and she knew it very well. She looked him for a moment and then looked at her daughter. The baby opened her eyes to look at her mother once more with that dark blue eyes and took an expression that was like a smile. Sybil took strength from her daughter and saw her drifting off again. She took a deep breath to calm and raised her head to look at her husband who was looking her trying to find an answer. "That is what everyone thinks, Tom. Cora and Robert aren't my biological parents.", he was looking at her with wide eyes. "Charles Carson and Elsie Hughes are my biological parents. They married forty years ago with the blessing of my grandmother and they decided to keep it a secret.", she stopped to take a deep breath and see her husband's reaction.

Tom looked at his wife surprised and confused. "But I still don't understand. If Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes are your biological parents why you grew up as the daughter of Lord and Lady Grantham?", he looked at her and saw that she was trying to hold back her tears.

Sybil looked at her daughter and her husband, then took a deep breath before continuing with the truth. "Four years after their marriage Mum got pregnant but she lost the baby when she was seven months pregnant after she fell from the stairs. After that Mum left for twelve years and came back to take the position as the housekeeper. It took them a year to admit that they still loved each other.", she smiled at her husband and took hold of his hand. "During their twenty first year of their marriage, Mum thought that she had a cold but when it didn't go away she went to see the doctor. They were surprised when doctor Clarkson told them that in five months they were going to be parents. They informed my grandmother about the pregnancy. Mum was seven months pregnant when along with Dad took a very hard decision. They wanted their child to grow up with a family that would be able to provide the better but they weren't able to do that. So they decided to give me to Mama and Papa to raise me as their daughter. Mama was also pregnant at the same time but they both gave birth the same night. Their baby daughter was born dead so it was the perfect chance to give me to them.", she stopped to calm before the tears started to fell.

This gave time to Tom to think about what he just heard from his wife and still he couldn't believe it. They were both looking at their daughter sleeping peacefully in her mother's arms without knowing what was going on around her. "Shall I continue?", her question brought him back from his thoughts and he nodded slowly. "No one learnt that Mum and Dad were married and they had a child, except for Mrs. Patmore, granny, Mama, Papa and doctor Clarkson. I learnt the truth four years ago when Mum learnt that she had cancer. At first I was so shocked and surprised that I didn't want to speak with anyone. That's why I asked you not to come here for a couple of weeks. I accepted both families with the condition that I could call Carson and Mrs. Hughes, Dad and Mum when we were alone. They all agreed and I made sure to spent as much time as I could with Mum and Dad, especially Mum because she was dying. That's why I was in that state when she died and when Dad died. I was so glad that I spent time with my parents before they died.", she let her tears fall free now.

Tom was taken by surprise with his wife break down but recovered quickly when he heard her sobbing. He sat beside her and put his arm around her shoulders. She cried in his arms while holding their daughter and he was rubbing soothing circles on her back.

A week after that night Mary and Edith learnt the truth about their young sister and in the end both women were crying. Sybil took them into her room to speak with them. Three months later it was the christening of the baby. They family slowly got out from the church to take some photographs all together. The photographer left the family standing outside the church. "Sybil, my darling girl. I believe that it's ideal to visit your parents.", Robert said as he placed the baby in his daughter's arm and smiled. "It would be nice for our little Elsie to visit her… grandparents.", he tried to hold back his tears.

They all nodded in agreement and started walking towards the cemetery to visit the grave of Charles and Elsie Carson. They reached the grave and Sybil was surprised from what she found. The stone on the grave was new and something new was engraved on it. 'Charles Carson and Elsie Carson. Our beloved parents and grandparents.' Her eyes were filled with tears but she tried to hold them back. She turned around to look at her father. She saw Mary, Edith, Matthew and Tom smiling at her and she questioned them with a look. Tom walked to her side and kissed her on the cheek. "After we learnt the truth we wanted to do something special for you and for these two people. Mr. Carson and Mrs. Carson were like parents to me and I would never forget how Mrs. Carson supported me through difficult times.", Tom said to his wife.

"We know that you are not our biological sister but we will always love you as our sister. This is our way to say 'Thank you' to Carson and Mrs. Hughes for giving us a sister.", Edith said and Marry nodded in agreement.

"We know that you are not our biological daughter but we always loved you and will always love you as our daughter. We agreed with your sisters, Matthew and Tom because it was one more way of saying 'Thank you' to these two people who gave their lives in serving us and gave us a daughter to love and raise as ours.", Cora said as she hugged her daughter and let a few tears to fall from her eyes.

"Mrs. Hughes wasn't that fond of our family as Carson was. I tried to convince them to keep you when they told me about their decision of giving you to Robert and Cora to raise you but it was Mrs. Hughes that insisted the most. She had said 'I know that it will be hard not to have our child with us but we would be happy to watch him or her grow up with a family that could give him or her what we are not able to give.' She was a great woman and I'm so sorry that an illness like that took her early from this life and didn't have the time she needed to spend with you.", Violet said as the tears were falling from her eyes and hugged her granddaughter.

Sybil looked at her family with teary eyes and they were smiling at her with teary eyes as well. She turned around to face the grave of her parents and let the tears to fall free now. She kneeled down on the ground and held little Elsie tightly to her. "I wish you were here to meet your granddaughter. I will come to visit you as often as I can with little Elsie. I love you, Mum and Dad.", she said as Tom helped her to stand up.

All of them stood still in silence for a minute in front of the grave. After that they started walking towards the road to go back to the house to celebrate the christening of little Elsie.

Sybil along with her daughter visited her parents' grave once a week and every time she put new flowers. No one forgot the butler and the housekeeper of Downton Abbey as no one else could replace them.

**THE END.**

_**Reviews are welcome. Soon a new story with our lovely couple Chelsie. **_


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